hi wedgie, about the length of bolt, the straight down tear drop style bolts traditionally come down so the bottom is level with the bottom of the wood work, I’m wanting to use this style on a project and my gunsmith told me to get my bottom metal etc sorted before I get him to do the bolt, he also confirmed the bolt should reach the bottom of stock/metal, if you have a drop box of course the mag will be a bit lower again, really enjoying this thread, keep up the good work!